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edinburgh, scotland, 2024

WHEN ANTHEIA HAD FIRST ARRIVED ON EARTH, she hadn't known what to expect. She'd been made aware of the basics; that they were there to kill the deviants, and to help the struggling mankind. She had known they were there to help preserve and protect the population from the deviants and once that was done, they could go home. As time passed she grew to love the planet and it's inhabitants, taking joy from watching them grow and develop. 

She adored the human way of living, harvesting crops, exploring a new land, watching Sprite's illusions deep into the night. She loved each and every single aspect equally. The kids fawned over her. They begged her to create flowers for them and to braid them through their hairs. They pleaded with her to join them in the open fields or to dance around the open fire and join in on the fun.

But that was then when things were different.

Wildly different in fact.

"Theia!" The girl snapped her head up, her eyes darting up to meet Owens as he smiled at her knowingly. "More work, less reading." He chided, raising a brow at the girl before disappearing back towards the front of the shop.

Antheia chuckled, closing the book and tucked it into the pocket of her dungarees. Nowadays she opted for the more comfortable choices of modern clothing, leaning into the comfort of them. It was a major difference to the uniform she adorned centuries ago. The change of fashion was an amusing thing to witness. Fashion changed like the blink of an eye yet it circled back every once and again to revive a time gone by.

Antheia pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes flitting around the shop at the books that had to be organised. Her smile was unwavering as it usually was when she was working. She loved her job too much to complain. Where else could she get paid a decent amount of money to sit around, organise books and read them for free?

'Fairview Bookshop' was a small, homely building when you looked at it externally, however, stepping inside was like stepping into one big ball of comfort. Its walls were lined with books upon books, and those that could not be situated on shelves lay in stacks piled around the floor. To many, it may seem rundown and a bit quaint but to Antheia, it felt like a slice of heaven served on a golden platter.

The girl adored her job. She enjoyed interacting with the people and locals who filtered in and out, she enjoyed the odd stray cat that wandered in from the streets, she enjoyed the fact it adjoined a Café so that on her breaks she could enjoy both a free book and a saint-like cup of hot chocolate.

She was the only employee that worked there apart from Owen. They didn't need much help. Owen was a great boss. He had married the woman who had owned the cafe next door and the two had made the elective decision to combine their business. They were a nice couple. They paid her fair and treated her like one of their own. They didn't have any children, but Antheia had a slight suspicion they didn't want any at all. She'd heard copious, hilarious remarks from Owen about the travesty of having a child.

All in all, Antheia liked her job and with her wage, she could afford to share an apartment just ten minutes away from her work. It was quite convenient.

The girl lightly hummed as she pushed the remaining few books onto the shelves, dusting off her hands against her trousers. Her eyes swept over the rest of the aisle until they landed on the window, where a new web had been spun by a spider. She looked around for her boss before approaching it. She shot a subtle wink to the spider, and despite the fact it was not a person, it greeted her. Antheia continued to hum to herself as she moved to the plant beside the web. She placed her hands just above the roots and with a small smile, the entire plant turned a healthier green. With a satisfied nod, the girl moved back of the aisle and towards the front.

"All the shelves have successfully been restocked!" She reported, clasped her hands together happily as Owen glanced up from the book he was reading. He looked at his watch before squeezing the bridge of his nose.

"You can head home early if you want? It's a quiet day." Owen told her, his fingers fiddling with the page of his book.

"Are you sure?" The girl's eyebrows scrunched together, her fingers looping through the knit holes of her jumper.

"Yeah, go, I'll see you tomorrow!"

The girl nodded, thanking the man profusely before she grabbed her coat from the coat rack and left the store, casually moving the book she'd been reading earlier from her pocket. Antheia placed the book into her bag, her hands in her pockets as the wind swept through the street. Her nose scrunched as the leaves swirled around her feet from the wind. The clouds above were heavy with rain which threatened to spill at any moment, but to her, it was as beautiful as any other day. Antheia practically bounced home, her head in the clouds as she continued to hum a soft tune.

The girl unlocked her apartment building door, stepping inside the cold room. She rubbed her hands together to create warmth before making her way up the stairs to the very top floor. Antheia fumbled with her keys, before quickly unlocking the door. She let out a small sigh as the door swung open, the faint sound of 'Fleetwood Mac' echoing from the kitchen.

The apartment was practically a safe haven for Antheia. The walls were decorated with various plants and succulents, each of them in perfect health. The living room was a small area with a green, three-seater couch placed in front of a tv, white coffee tables on either side. Besides the plants, the walls were decorated with shelves of both old books and vintage types of vinyl. Her roommate had once questioned the odd amount of quaint stuff, but Antheia had merely shrugged it off, telling her that she enjoyed collecting them.

Georgia hadn't questioned that reason.

Antheia found herself grinning, placing her bag by the door as Sylvester, (her tiny, grey cat companion) sidled up to her legs, letting out soft meows, which Antheia translated to be a series of soft complaints that she had been gone all day.

"Oh hush," she hummed, bending down to pet the creature. "Georgia was here all morning, you couldn't have been that lonely, and anyways, I'm home now!"

Antheia smiled, standing back up before she wandered through the apartment to the compact, yet charming kitchen. Georgia Akells stood with her sleeves rolled up to her elbow and a light dusting of flour all over her. Her hands were kneading through the dough on the countertop as she sang along to the song.

"I thought the flour was meant to be in the dough?" Antheia giggled, her infectious laughter drifting as she leaned against the counter, watching as the other girl glanced up.

"I'm making scones, want one?" Georgia tilted her head, pushing back a strand of hair with her forearm.

"Yes, please!"

"You'll have to wait until they're done though, besides your home early. Thought you were working 'til five?"

"Owen let me leave, the shop wasn't that busy." Antheia smiled, picking up an apple from their fruit bowl before biting into it. The two girls stood talking, their chatter bouncing off the walls of the apartment. Georgia was the only person Antheia had ever gotten relatively close with over the last two decades.

Before she moved to Edinburgh, she had resided in a small cottage on the coast of Cornwall, surrounded by fields and plants galore. She enjoyed her little space, it had felt like home. She was completely immersed by her plants and a few animals drawn to her but it was quite a lonely place. She only received a few letters from her former team. She had spoken to a few of them via letter over the last few centuries, however, some of them did not write back, and if they did, it was usually short and unbecoming.

After living in her lonely, little cottage for nine years, Antheia had packed up and decided to start anew. When she moved to Edinburgh, she'd met Georgia working in a small bakery owned by her parents. The two hit it off and became close friends quicker than the blink of an eye. Within a year they'd decided to move in together, both because of the rising rent rates and the fact that Georgia no longer wanted to live with her parents.

"—anyways, this girl came into the bakery today and she totally looks like your type, so I gave her your number." Georgia prattled, a mischievous grin plastered across her face.

"Georgia!" Antheia exclaimed, her eyes bright as her mouth dropped in shock.

"What?! When's the last time you went on a date, huh?"

Antheia smiled to herself, "It was a long time ago," she admitted, her eyes flitting to the floor.

"Then let me do this for you!" Georgia begged, moving to put the scones into the oven. Suddenly, the plants on the wall began to shake, and the floor began to tremble. Antheia grasped the counter as Georgia froze in shock.

"Georgia! C'mon!" Antheia frantically urged as the ground shook.

"...but the scones!"

"Don't worry about them!"

Antheia grabbed the other girls hand and dragged her under their kitchen table. Her eyes flashed green as she scanned the apartment for Sylvester.

"Sylvester, come!" She ordered, trying to be heard over the intense clattering and rumbling. Antheia watched as the cat came running, his little legs moving quickly as he situated himself between the two girls, both their vacant hands holding him still. Antheia and Georgia clutched each other as flower pots shattered all around them, books and vinyls falling off the wall. Antheia's heart fell as the flowers and succulents dropped limp.

The earthquake slowly eased off, the shaking coming to a firm stop. Antheia slowly stood up, Sylvester leaping into her shaky arms as Georgia regained her balance. The cat in her arms was meowing his complaints, demanding answers, yet Antheia remained silent, her eyes scanning their ruined apartment.

"What's happening?" She whispered to herself, her hands gripping Sylvester for comfort. Georgia tentatively crept towards their messy kitchen, her face pulling into a frown. Antheia glanced at the woman as her shoulders dropped.

"My scones are ruined," she pouted, picking up a loose bit of dough. Antheia allowed herself to smile at the girl, the flowers around her brightening. She didn't notice this, of course, she was too used to it.

"C'mon," Antheia placed a light hand on the girl's shoulder, her lips pulling into a small frown. "Let's start cleaning this place up."

It had taken them all night to even bring the apartment to a decent level of tidiness. Antheia had swept up all of the dust and compost she could whilst Georgia got to stacking the books and vinyls. Antheia had managed to rehang a few of the pots that remained intact. She had subtlety revived a few of the plants, too sad to leave them wither.

It was late now, the sun had long set. The two girls had crumpled onto the couch in exhaustion with cups of hot chocolate, (courtesy of Antheia).

"I think I'm going to go to bed," Georgia announced with a yawn, stretching her arms above her head.

Antheia bid her goodnight with a wide smile, her eyes flitting from the television to the pages of her book. She bit her lip in worry as her stomach churned. It was an odd feeling brewing, one she couldn't quite place. She listened as the news labelled the earthquakes as 'a series of freak disasters', that 'couldn't be explained'.

Her fingers brushed over the page of her book, lingering on the faded led notes in the margin. Its pages were yellowed and on the verge of falling apart, yet Antheia treasure it. 'Don Quixote was a book she'd read a hundred times over, mainly for the little details within its pages. It had been gifted to her over four hundred years ago, and her heart swelled each time she even thought about it.

She didn't know how long she'd sat there reading its words, but the apartment was silent. Sylvester was curled up by her feet, lying on his back sound asleep. She closed her book with a yawn, not bothered to move from the couch to her room. Antheia took a breath in snuggling into the cushions of her couch.

She buried her face into the softness and just as she began to drift off to sleep, a sharp knocking came from the apartment door. Antheia opened an eye, hoping that the person would just go away if she didn't answer rather than linger. It was quiet, so she figured that it had worked and whoever it was had left.

Another knock rang through the apartment.

Antheia let out a soft groan, pulling herself to her feet, as Sylvester shifted and rolled over. She crept towards the door, her heartbeat picking up. What if it was a murderer? She really hoped it wasn't, but just in case, she grabbed the phonebook from atop the cabinet and slowly unlocked her door.

With a deep inhale, the girl opened the door and instinctively threw the book, her eyes squeezed shut. She heard a soft grunt of pain followed by a series of snickers, and as she opened her eyes, they widened in shock. Her eyes flitted to each of the people outside the apartment, her hands beginning to tremble.

"Oh...hello!"

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HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE FIRST CHAPTER OF LOVER! This chapter is to mainly give some background on a modern-day Antheia, I just love her so much <333

ANYWAYS, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you soon!